License our fun, engaging curriculum for your school.
Story Time Chess at School gets kids playing and loving chess through storytelling, starting at the surprising age of 3.
Make your school stand out.
Over the years, schools that have partnered with Story Time Chess at School have been featured countless times in various news outlets. Story Time Chess has received 14 awards including the Webby award and the People's Choice TOTY.
Partnering with Story Time Chess at School helps your school to stand out and make itself unique in your market. There's something very impactful about parents seeing 3-6 year olds playing Chess.
Story-based curriculum.
Easily accessible.
Story Time Chess at School is very natural and fun to teach. It requires < knowledge. As long as you can tell a story, you can teach chess. The web-based curriculum is easily accessible on computer and tablet. 95% of the teachers using our curriculum today were not chess players before teaching Story Time Chess at School.
Now with our Video Library NEW! One-click use.
Our fun, engaging, story-based chess curriculum is now on high-quality video, hosted by our very best Story Time Chess teachers.
Let our teachers do the teaching. Just one click and one of our storytellers will take your class through our fun, engaging stories and lessons.
Each lesson includes a story that introduces piece movement, chessercises - physical exercises to help reinforce the lesson physically as well as narratively, and on-board exercises so children are playing a real game of chess right from the start. The approximate run-time of each video lesson is 20-25 minutes.
At this time, Module One: Piece Mechanics (10 lessons) is available via the Video Library. Further Modules are in production and will be released soon.
Impress the parents.
Parent engagement emails.
Our web-based portal has the option to automatically send parents updates of what your child is learning with Story Time Chess at School. The updates include summaries of the lessons learned and games they can play at home. This saves the teacher time and extends the learning environment into the home setting.
Get hands-on.
Materials for the classroom.
Newly upgraded, the Welcome Pack now contains the Story Time Chess Mega-Bundle - including STC The Game, Coloring Book, Activity Workbook, Puzzle Workbook, and three sticker sheets - as well and three tournament-style chessboards.
No chess experience?
No problem. We train your teachers.
The Story Time Chess Curriculum is designed so that teachers with zero prior chess experience can teach the game with our fun, engaging stories (and learn chess yourself as you go). We offer two options to get you ready for success right off the bat:
Teacher Training
The Story Time Chess Teacher Training Program provides your staff with the same training our own in-house teachers receive. Training can be done virtually or in person depending on location and lasts two to three hours depending on the number of teachers trained. Two yearly training sessions are included - the first as an introductory and comprehensive training, the second - usually done mid-year - as a refresher and opportunity for teachers to ask questions, practice some of the larger chess concepts in the later curriculum, and orient any new teachers who would like to join.
Orientation
Do your teachers already have great storytelling and chess skills? Fantastic! Our Story Time Chess Curriculum Portal may be the best choice for you. We'll provide a 45-60 minute orientation session and you'll be off and running.
Parents Love it
Story Time Chess at School brings parents into the learning process with cutting-edge lesson tracking and parent engagement features. When their kids come home with tales of kings and queens, parents will already be up-to-date on their progress and able to join in their child's chess journey.
Competitive advantage
Chess education has already become a standard enrichment activity in public and private primary / secondary schools. Story Time Chess’s ability to teach children as young as three how to play chess is a new development in early childhood education. Our partnerships have proven to give schools a competitive advantage by differentiating themselves with our unique program.
Increased enrollment & student retention
Schools that have the partnered with Story Time Chess have been able to both increase enrollment (more new students) as well as retain students through summer programs and following school years. Some schools have experienced over 100% increases in summer enrollment, accredited directly to the Story Time Chess program.
Students love it
Through the Story Time Chess program students learn how to play chess while developing a love and passion for the game. Don’t be surprised when your children rave about chess and the characters from our stories.
Seamless integration
We align our lessons and exercises with elements of your existing curriculum and activities that will be familiar to your students.
Strong marketing tool
Chess education in your school can be utilized as a strong marketing tool to increase the number of parent walkthroughs and to gain media spotlight. Schools partnered with Story Time Chess have been featured on news stations, including ABC and NBC.
Why Chess in school?
Research shows playing chess significantly improves children’s visual memory, attention span, spatial-reasoning ability, problem-solving, patience, and follow-through and also appears to improve verbal skills by exercising functions of the brain related to language.
Why Story Time Chess?
Our unique, story-based curriculum engages students' literacy, communication, and emotional intelligence as well as developing the well-documented benefits of chess itself. By participating in the stories, engaging with classmates, and engaging their creativity, students develop a well-rounded set of skills that promote not just chess-specific growth, but also academic success and personal confidence.
Pricing
We have various pricing options available depending on the needs of your school. This is our recommended package.
Schedule a call to learn more.
| Complete 60-lesson curriculum (currently 50, will be 60 by end of 2021) |
| Chessercises |
| Parent Engagement Portal |
| Unlimited class usage, progress tracking across classrooms |
| Access to lessons in our Video Library |
| Story Time Chess board game |
| Story Time Chess Activity Workbook |
| Story Time Chess Puzzle Workbook |
| Story Time Chess Coloring Book |
| Story Time Chess Sticker Sheets |
| Zoom Orientation |
(Recommended Package)
| Complete 60-lesson curriculum (currently 50, will be 60 by end of 2021) |
| Chessercises |
| Parent Engagement Portal |
| Unlimited class usage, progress tracking across classrooms |
| Access to lessons in our Video Library |
| Story Time Chess board game |
| Story Time Chess Activity Workbook |
| Story Time Chess Puzzle Workbook |
| Story Time Chess Coloring Book |
| Story Time Chess Sticker Sheets |
| Full training for your teaching staff |
Get Story Time Chess set up in your school today.
9829
Students reached this week
Seeing is believing! I watched a group of 3 and 4 year olds play chess."
"Checkmate! Chess is an old game with a new audience...3 and 4 year olds are learning how to win."
"Tiny feet take big steps in chess."
Testimonials
Educators endorse it
Parents praise it
More from our educators...
"Once upon a time, there was a wonderful opportunity to introduce and teach chess to our Pre K and Kindergarten students in a very age appropriate, engaging, inviting way. Without hesitation, we made a move to be a part of this ground-breaking program. The children get so excited for chess and anxiously await the next lesson. We highly recommend this chess program!"
— Michelle and Brian Clark, School Owners – Horsham, PA
"Our students absolutely love the Story Time Chess at School program. The program not only teaches the game of chess and develops critical thinking skills, but also fosters positive teamwork among young learners. This program is sure to be a great addition to any preschool curriculum."
— Stephanie Lane, Director of Education – Exton, PA
"With Story Time Chess at School, students gravitate towards chess as a fun, wonderful activity that they want to do. Without realizing it, they are strengthening their mental capacity and problem solving skills, which will help them in other subjects too."
— Bill Swan, Owner and Principal – New York City (Featured School on ABC 7 – Video Above)
"Teaching children to play chess supports key learning objectives of our education program and helps strengthen our home-to-school connection as students are able to go play chess with family and friends at home. Our overall school retention and occupancy efforts are enhanced by Story Time Chess at School's highly engaging and fun program."
— Dr. Craig Bach, VP of Education – The Goddard Systems
"Within weeks of starting the Story Time Chess at School program we had a 'good game.' The eldest students were so excited and enthusiastic about the stories they took it upon themselves to teach the youngest 2 and 3 year olds. We would highly recommend this program for your school or home. I feel we are giving the kids tools for life and the ability to share a skill that will bring them much entertainment and joy."
— Dr. Christina Siegel, Principal – The Siegel Academy
"Green Ivy Kids love Story Time Chess at School! Thoughtful and engaging stories get our students as young as three years old learning the fundamentals of chess and keep them hooked week after week. Story Time Chess at School is a must-have in our after school programs."
— Jen Henriquez, Enrichment Director – Green Ivy Schools
What you get
Lessons available
- Level 1: Piece + Game Mechanics: How the pieces move, what they like to do, and their relationship to each other.
- Level 2: Strategy + Planning: How to play a full game and what sequences to use in the beginning, sportsmanship, how to be friends when we play, how to win and lose, and how to make a plan.
- Level 3: Piece Valuation + Sportsmanship: Teaches students how to record their chess games using algebraic notation.
- Level 4: Piece Mobility + Notation: This module emphasizes piece mobility and teaches students how to record a chess game using algebraic notation.
- Level 5: Attacking and Defending: Lessons about offensive and defensive strategies accompany an exciting story series about grit, perseverance, and visualizing moves on the board.
- Level 6: Endgame Rules + Tactics: Learning check, attacking, checkmate, fork, pin, skewer, stalemate, and more...
- Level 7: Module 1A (Beginners Aged 3, 4-5, 6-7): This module covers piece movement rules and basic gameplay strategy on a more accelerated track compared to the classic STC curriculum. By the end of this module, students will know: Piece Mechanics Safe and Danger Squares Playing "Capture the King"
- Level 8: Module 1B (Beginners Age 3): This module allows the youngest beginners to practice newly acquired chess skills, learn about sportsmanship, and hear captivating stories of Chesslandia.
- Level 9: Module 1C (Beginners Aged 7+): This module covers piece mechanics and basic rules but at a faster pace than Module 1A. It is intended for true beginners aged seven and up, but could be appropriate for younger students with an outstanding natural aptitude for chess.
- Level 10: Module 2 (Beginners Ages 3-5): Young beginners will take the next steps beyond piece mechanics to learn castling, basic openings, and introductory game planning.
- Level 11: Module 3: In Module 3, students will learn to make decisions based around piece point values and continue to develop sportsmanship.
Also included
- Parent Engagement Portal: send updates to parents with summaries of what their child learned and exercises to do at home! Available for all lessons.
- Video Library: Our fun, engaging, story-based chess curriculum is now on high-quality video, hosted by our very best Story Time Chess teachers.
- Teacher Training: Our education consultants will work with you to find the best way to deliver the Story Time Chess curriculum in your school and train your teachers on it.
- Welcome Pack: the Story Time Chess Mega Bundle (Story Time Chess: The Game, Activity Workbook, Coloring Book, Puzzle Book, and 3 sticker sheets) + 3 tournament-style chessboards.
- Video Tutorials: Video tutorials on navigating and implementing the curriculum in your school.
- Support: Contact us with any questions about the curriculum or how to implement in your school.